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Welcome to the podcast. We call it TWICV. It is our effort to provide a fast-paced, entertaining, and alternative voice to the propaganda and hype flowing out of colleges in America today.
This week in College Viability is a proud affilate of The EdUP Experience podcast network.
Gary Stocker (00:01.14)
It is Monday, June 29th, 2026. Hi, everybody. Thanks for joining again for another podcast episode of this week in College Viability News and Commentary. I am, of course, Gary Stalker sitting in front of the Blue Yeti microphone. And as always, this is a podcast that talks about the financial health and viability of public and private colleges. And this week we're going to talk about the consumer protection part of that. Couple stories this week out of the Northeast about that. And we'll talk about those details in particular.
In addition, this week, Johns Hopkins laying off 110 workers. The patterns continue. Massachusetts, this is my note. Massachusetts higher education is a mess. Same story, different year. I've got a lot of details on that. And someone new to the college viability party. Today's college search requires a new type of due diligence. That's from a college president. That's from the college president at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, a Dr. James Burge.
Dr. Burge, welcome to the party. And then back to Massachusetts we go. Brooke Hauser at the Boston Globe has a story on back-to-back college closures, prompt demand for stronger consumer protections. That's why I'm here. Brooke, thank you very much for the story. It's a good one. And where do we start each week? Layoffs and cutbacks. I've got one this week. Not much happening as the 4th of July weekend approaches. John Hopkins, Johns Hopkins, excuse me, will lay off 110 workers.
As it deals with the loss of federal fundings, just a pattern. Johns Hopkins, of course, is not going anywhere. Page two. To Massachusetts, we go, and we go to Massachusetts a lot. Unpaid stipends, missing state scholarships. Questions mount as Anna Maria College closes. That's the headline, Juliette Schulman Hall, all over what's going on in Massachusetts. Had the story on June 25th at Massachusetts Live and on Yahoo. Yahoo!
Yahoo, Yahoo. and Ms. Schulman Hall continues to ride herd, probably more than anybody else I've I've I've watched or herd. She continues to ride herd on Massachusetts private colleges. Anna Maria has been in her sights for a while and has have other private colleges and public colleges, maybe in in the Massachusetts area. And there's a student, she writes in the story, who's looking for answers. This student went to Anna Maria College, the state.
Gary Stocker (02:25.006)
The state of Massachusetts awarded her a $10,000 plus dollar scholarship, but it is sitting somewhere in Anna Maria's college's bank accounts. Or at least this student hopes. I'm keeping the student's name out of this. Repeated emails to Anna Maria's president and to administrators have gone unanswered. Those who do respond have don't have any information. And the student goes on to say, This is our money and it is being stolen at this point.
I'm sure it's an emotional scenario for her. This is this this is our money and it is being stolen at this point. She wrote in a Tuesday email to the financial aid office at Anna Maria College. A quote from the director of financial aid responded apparently a few minutes later. I wish I had information to provide you. However, I don't. Just so you are aware, my email will be shut off in a few days. What a way, huh? Just And Anna Maria is not the first to have such pathetic.
Pathetic preparation for their closure. And there will be there will sadly many others coming in the coming weeks and months. And it was familiar a familiar response, Ms. Schulman Hall writes. The financial aid office told her at one point the money would be deposited into her account. Then weeks later, they said it was with the college's attorneys. The student filed a complaint with the state attorney general's office and the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.
The department sent the college a notice on June 15th of a consumer complaint and asked the re institution to respond within seven days. This is after the college has announced its closure. In a Wednesday email to the department sent after the required seven-day response window, Anna Maria College President Sean Ryan requested a 30-day extension. All right.
He wrote, Unfortunately, the college presently does not have the resources to respond appropriately. I guess they've all bailed, which I would too, I think. It is unclear whether the college lacks sufficient resources to pay students or whether it doesn't have the resources to respond, human resources to respond to the complaint at this time. Megan Dumas, who is Anna Maria's program director, who was Anna Maria's program director for the Master's in counseling psychology programs, said students and faculty have lost trust.
Gary Stocker (04:45.122)
Have lost trust. That's sad. I know I'm laughing. Have lost trust in the college administration amid its closure.
Gary Stocker (04:54.254)
The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education spokesperson said it has communicated to Anna Maria that the students earned their scholarships and the need to receive them as promised. So
So Anna Maria leadership over who knows how many years ran the college into the ground. In the process, they appear to have used a variety of funds just to keep the lights on and just to meet payroll. And one can speculate where some of those funds might have come from. It could have been, it could have been from students' counts. And this will continue to happen. This will continue to happen.
I think in most college closures.
Yeah, it's sad. And that is why assessing a college's financial health and viability is essential in 2026 and and beyond, of course. In our college viability inspection report, Anna Maria had seven of nine flags. Seven of nine were red. That ain't good.
And and if if if all the students referenced in this story, and even all those at the college had a resource to easily assess the college's financial health, and they do, it just hasn't made it out there yet. That's what I'm working on. If they had access before, a lot of financial financial and emotional trauma would have been avoided. And I'll talk about more about the tools later on in the show.
Gary Stocker (06:27.724)
Northern Arizona developing a budget to respond to big decreases. Northern Arizona University is protecting continued decline in revenue in the coming fiscal year. According to a presentation about its upcoming fiscal year budget, the university is expecting full-time enrollment enrollment to decrease more than 10%, about 2,800 students for the 2026-27 fiscal year. And that equates to something like a $1717 million decrease. LaSalle College.
LSA I's largest capital campaign yet. After record fundraising year, Ryan Mulligan had the story in the Philadelphia Business Journal on June 16th. The college raised 19.7 million. I don't see the time frame. 8 million was in restricted donations for nursing and a wellness facility. And the board chair also gave 1 million, presumably unrestricted funds. And of course, you know where I went. I went to the Prospective Data Science College Financial Compass.
And of the 15 key measures that Matt Hendrix tracks on his financial compass. LaSalle had negative indicators on 14 of the 15. So in my mind, what we have here is a as a charity college. It's one, like many, that can't find for that one that can't financially support itself on the revenue of being a college, and it's turning to gifts. And
Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that. But let's be up front and say if the gifts go away, the college has not exhibited the capacity to run itself with net positive revenue. So is it a business or is it a charity? Is the question I would ask. And two quick notes, the endowment went down from ninety-five million in 2016 to 58 million in 2025.
Since 2022, LaSalle has been rating its endowment to the tune to get these four numbers. The endowment draw taking out of the endowment has gone 7%, 13%, 18%, 21%. That is, ladies and gentlemen, not sustainable. The college added four sports teams and 700 new students last year, so they say. In another example of regurgitation reporting from the Philadelphia Business Journal, no one asked in this story.
Gary Stocker (08:56.342)
No one reported in the story what the tuition discount rate was for students, for the new students. Did they have to give away the store to get students in the door? Or even, you know, what was the net tuition revenue from those four new sports? Yes, the students paid some tuition, I get that. But there were costs, and I've talked about those before, I won't spend time on that today. And what does their accrediting agency do at LaSalle? The Middle States Commission on Higher Education? Reaffirmed. Reaffirmed.
LaSalle College's School Accreditation. Here's the thought. Here's the thought. Maybe Mackenzie Scott Bezos will step in and add to the LaSalle Charity Drive. My mistake, I should have had sarcasm alert in front of that. Page three. James Burge, who's the president of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, it's in North Adams, Massachusetts, wherever that is.
He r had a post at universitybusiness.com.
Gary Stocker (10:13.784)
So page three. James Burge, who's the president of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, had a post in universitybusiness dot com, and his headline reads, Today's college requires a new kind of due diligence.
In story, Dr. Burge notes, finding the right fit, and I've always had a trouble with that term, but so be it. Finding the right fit remains a critical component of a student's success and their graduation. But in the modern search process, there is a glaring omission that must look beyond campus extracurricular and co-curricular organizations, lavish dorm room, dorm rooms, dining hall offerings. Students and parents today, this is Dr. Burge, not me.
Students and parents today must ask the tough question. The tough question, will this college stay open over the next four years? Dr. Burge goes on to write, as I reflect on a career in higher education, including the last 17 years as a college president, it's more urgent, more urgent than ever, that students and parents look critically at the financial situation of any schools they are considering.
He goes on schools eager to draw students with too good to be true financial aid packages can seem alluring and and true, it's good for the students. But but how are they offering that deal? Is it through sustainable means such as endowed scholarships or state for federal funding? Or have they mortgaged their future with untenable endowment drawdown rates and unfunded discounts that essentially take away revenue from the college?
He concludes colleges and universities today must demonstrate not only that students will be supported and welcomed when they walk onto campus, but also that the financial foundation those supports are built upon will endure long after they graduate. Amen. Dr. Burge, well put, and others listening to the show and sharing the show with others. You know, don't be a hot podcast hog. Make sure you share this podcast link.
Gary Stocker (12:26.488)
With your higher education friends, families, neighbors, relatives in that college search, college decision-making process. Brookhauser at the Boston Globe had a story today, June 29th, and it read kind of along similar lines: back-to-back college closures prompt demand for stronger consumer protection.
And and Brookhauser and others continues to report, continue to report on what I'm calling College Closure Central. College Closure Central, also known as Massachusetts. That state has become the test case for trying and failing to protect college students and their families from college closures.
This article adds something that I have suggested for a long time. College consumers need better tools to assess the financial health of colleges they are either considering or attending. They're just they're not available from states, they're not available from accrediting or accrediting organizations, they are available from college availability, they are available from other sources like perspective data science.
And you've heard me say this before: creditors and state agencies either cannot or will not serve as consumer advocates for students. There's no evidence to suggest that they have. Their conflicts of interest are always prevailing for the interests of the college, not the student. Massachusetts has something called the Farm Act, a farm law, excuse me, a farm law enacted after the short notice closure of Mount Ida.
In 2018. And in 2026, it's still not working, as is evidenced by the short notice closures of both Hampshire College and Anna Maria College, both in Massachusetts. And here's my proof from the story. Larry Shaw, president of the New England Commission of Higher Education, said the accrediting agency was waiting on Anna Maria's audit. They were aware, they were waiting for Anna Maria's audit, but aware of its deteriorating finances.
Gary Stocker (14:37.006)
All right. Listen to this. The commissioned warned the school, warned the college, warned Anna Marie College, that it was in danger of not meeting financial standards over a year ago. Over a year ago. Note that the commission warned the school, warned the college, warned Anna Maria and its leadership. It did not warn students.
It did not warn students or anybody else. And here, you know, the the theme of Brookhauser's story is, and this is a quote from somebody I'll name here in a second, what's needed is a more robust system that allows students and their families to make an intelligent choice about where to go based on all information. And that's from Joshua Garrick, G-A-R-I-C-K, who's a consumer protection attorney who represented former students in a lawsuit against Mount Ida.
It shuddered. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the data is there. You know it's there because I use it all the time. How often have I said to you on this show and other places, let's go, let's go to the data. But current systems, accreditors, and state agencies across the country don't use it to protect consumers. And so, as I've shared before, the solution is to rely on private market forces. Private market forces like college viability.
And perspective data science and others. Their tools show trends, they show comparisons with peer colleges and other colleges. And it's a much more easy to understand format than saying go to iPads, go to financial statements, go to IRS 990s. We do that for you. Matt Hendrix does a phenomenal job of that with his financial compass and with his strategic compass. And of course, our focus this year and beyond is for consumers and their parents.
We make it easy to understand, easy to read. It's red and green. Here's an example of what are the type of color-coded referenced in the in this in this story. Here's an example of the type of color-coded warning app for students and families. It's available at My College Viability. My College Viability, one long word. MycollegeViability.com. Nine measures, three categories: financial health, outcomes like graduation rates, and value. Green is for good.
Gary Stocker (17:03.222)
And red is f not so good. And it's free.
Gary Stocker (17:10.702)
State and accrediting agencies have have shown no capacity to protect higher education consumers. None in my mind. And and as is almost always the case, market forces are naturally market forces like college viability, market forces like prospective data science, market forces like tuition fit that Mark Salisbury has. Market forces are naturally moving in to provide consumer protection information for college students.
Because the current system just doesn't get it done. Page four, the National Review, George Leaf had a story on June 17th.
There's a theme here. How bad is American higher education? And it comes from a new book, Higher Education in America. It's worse than you think. This is from the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. That's where the story comes from. And a thread running through the book is that our colleges and universities have lost their sense of mission. There's a point, that's a point made by Hillsdale College President Larry Arne, who says that most of them have turned education, most colleges.
Hillzell College President Larry Arne says most colleges have turned education into something more like a manufacturing operation, just trying to process through as many bodies as possible to collect as much money as possible. That, ladies and gentlemen, is an indictment. And he goes on to write in the book review our governmental higher education financing system with easy money for everybody in the form of loans.
In most cases, comes in for severe criticism. Preston Cooper writes, For too long, colleges have taken advantage of an opaque and dysfunctional financial aid system. And I've talked about this before. They've taken advantage, colleges have taken advantage to strong arm students into paying higher tuition than they would in a free and competitive market.
Gary Stocker (19:14.86)
And what about the quality? How about the quality of education that college students receive? The the review writes it has been dumbed down, dumbed down to accommodate the large number of high school graduates who are neither well prepared nor much interested in anything like real college work. How many times have I said that? And our accreditation system is written, and our accreditation system has done nothing to unrest to arrest that trend.
Gary Stocker (19:47.778)
I've talked about the lack of college student consumer protections from financially challenged colleges for a long time. This week's show had two had two stories, two new stories on the topic, and I don't recall anybody else expressing higher education concerns in the context or for consumer protection for college students and their families. I've talked about the Kelly Blue Book where Kelly kicks tires on cars.
I've talked about a higher education version of consumer reports. I created the concept of the fictional yet realistic reverse FAFSA. The reverse FAFSA, of course, colleges know the finances of students and their families. A reverse FAFSA would make it only fair that the opposite should be true. Students and families should understand and know the finances of a college. And thus have become the college, the set of college viability tools I have created and released.
And I have read countless post-closure announcement student stories. Students who are commenting on their colleges that just announced closure. And the theme is consistent. I had no idea. Nobody told us. Now I have mentioned caveat empty, buyer beware, before, and it's it's it's legitimate pushback. But let me ask you a question. Can can can can you remember during your college search, whenever that was, mine was a long time ago.
During your college search, ever thinking about a college's financial health? It just wasn't in the past and still too much isn't part of the culture yet. Yet. And here's the scary part. Here's the scary part for colleges in difficult financial straits. The market is already starting to be wary of college finances.
I have dozens of private college counselors registered for a summer a set of summer college financial health webinars I have scheduled to teach them and give them tools. And I'm gonna give them access, free access to some, if not all, of my apps. Can't quite remember what what we're gonna give them. And and so what happens? What happens when students and families use a college's financial health as their first criterion?
Gary Stocker (22:11.192)
For s for for creating a college list? What happens if and when, I hope when, when c when my college viability apps go viral? The college viability inspection report and a new tool we're working on that's gonna go even beyond that? What happens when college representatives can't answer the questions? When college representatives, in whatever form or fashion, can't answer the questions that we are feeding to college consumers?
Based on college financial data.
I'll I'll I'll leave you to ponder the answers, even though it's easy to predict what happens next when the data becomes readily available to the entire market. So as always, thanks for making time for the college viability for this week in college viability. Until next Monday, which will take us into July. I'm Gary Stalker with College Viability. Thanks for listening.